If there is not smoke pouring from the building, it ain't Q and ain't roadfood!

I agree,,,,,almost. Yesterday I had a very nice pulled pork sandwich at Major League Roast Beef in Auburn , Mass. IMO, MLB is Roadfood, but they are a sandwich shop that happens to have some good Q. Maybe they buy it?? There is no smoke pouring from a shed out back. $7.49 for a good sized, very fresh onion roll, with a good portion of pulled pork (no sides) is on the expensive side of cheap roadfood, but everything there is about $1 extra. Maybe that is why they can keep the quality in. www.majorleagueroastbeef.com There are a lot of baseball posters on the wall, but the picture of Ted Williams has him in a jet fighter during the Korean War. Even today, less than 4000 pilots in world history have qualified to land a jet on a carrier at night. There must have been only hundreds in his day. He was a great baseball player, AND a Marine fighter pilot. They don't make them like him anymore. MLB is right down the street from Ronnies, the central Mass fried clam Mecca.

Today I stopped at Burger King, which nobody would call Roadfood. Certainly no BBQ smoke, and no pitmaster. The $4.99 special pulled pork sandwich, with fries and a drink, was on the smallish side...............nothing like the picture, but surprisingly good. The pulled pork, which is obviously shipped in, had good flavor, mouth feel, and a nice tang. Were it served out of a smoking roadside trailer, I'd have been satisfied, and I doubt that a roadside guy could do it for $4.99

Growing up in Connecticut I thought barbeque was what some people did outside with hot dogs and hamburgers. It wasn't till I got to Texas while in the Air Force that I found out otherwise.

I had the same experience growing up. "Grilling" was "BBQ". There was absolutely no distinction between the two. My mom's ribs were oven cooked and finished off on a weber with sauce. That was BBQ. Wasn't until I was in college and roadtripped to Kansas City did I discover what an actual BBQ rib was.

.......... Wasn't until I was in college and roadtripped to Kansas City did I discover what an actual BBQ rib was.

For me it was going in the service. Like other northeasters I thought that BBQ was another word for "charcoal grill". North Carolina had (has?) some great roadside Q shacks, great seafood of a different kind than the northeast type that I was used to, and great Bogue Sound watermelons. The pitmasters must have bought shipped in wood, because the native, coastal pine was not good for cooking.

We stopped at Marathon Restaurant in Hopkinton, Mass today. It has always been good, but not Roadfood. There has been a format change, with the same owner. A few of the old favorites are still there, like Basil Calamari, but today the parking lot was a cloud of hickory smoke, and inside, the menu is mostly Q. I had the fork tender smoked beef briskit. I got the small size (it was not small) with 1 side plus homemade slaw and corn bread for $11. The beef was served without sauce. There is a beer 6 pak on the table filled with 6 kinds of sauce to put on yourself. The service was good enough to leave over 20%, and I'm usually a 15% guy. My co-diners are not Q folks, but they were very pleased with the salmon held over from the old menu. We shared the calamari as an appitizer, and it was, as usual, perfect. Real Q seems to be the hot "new" thing up here.

Dearfolk, I'm spoiled, I admit it. Today I had BBQ pork at Harry's here in Athens and ate the meat neat... without sauce! Good 'cue doesn't need sauce, although I love tasting the sauce(s) as I travel to see the local variations. Wholeheartedly, Ort. in 30601-land.

Dearfolk, I forgot to mention... a good neighborhood bar in Atlanta, the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 1136 Euclid Avenue, N/E, has an in-kitchen smoker and puts out some mighty fine BBQ pork and brisket. It's well worth a visit if you're in the neck of the woods. Fine sides as well, especially their Brunswick stew. Wholeheartedly, Ort. C. - still stuck in Athens.

And, I don't consider BBQ roadfood unless it's served buffet style so you can see the cutter working his magic. I will not eat any BBQ in a sit down restaurant with wait service. I want to see the meat before I order it!

.......... Wasn't until I was in college and roadtripped to Kansas City did I discover what an actual BBQ rib was.

For me it was going in the service. Like other northeasters I thought that BBQ was another word for "charcoal grill". North Carolina had (has?) some great roadside Q shacks, great seafood of a different kind than the northeast type that I was used to, and great Bogue Sound watermelons. The pitmasters must have bought shipped in wood, because the native, coastal pine was not good for cooking.

.......... Wasn't until I was in college and roadtripped to Kansas City did I discover what an actual BBQ rib was.

For me, it was moving to Dallas from NYC in 1963.

It took me ten years after moving from Pittsburgh to the the Shenandoah Valley to stumble upon it in Lumberton, North Carolina during a roadtrip to Disney World. It was all that smoke that sparked my curiosity!

For me it took leaving the service and moving to Texas to find out what BBQ really was. And yes if I can't see my brisket and ribs being cut and put on butcher paper then I'm not comfortable. Famous Dave's and Salt Lick are not on my list of BBQ places.

Mmm, speaking of BBQ, I just finished a great smoked brisket lunch at the Slow Bone in Dallas. A certifiably roadfood quality BBQ joint. If their brisket was any more tender, you'd have to eat it with a spoon!Not spam! So, please do not flag me!